Nachos

Every February I invite an intimate group of friends over to watch the Academy Awards. In 2007 I cooked a menu that featured Wolfgang Puck's recipes. In 2008, I made a smorgasbord of elegant, award-winning appetizers. This year I've decided to serve a buffet of classic movie foods. However, I'll give the concession-stand snacks the star treatment. Instead of offering guests boring old popcorn, toss fresh cooked kernels with truffle oil, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Wrap mini sausages in puff pastry for an upscale take on the ordinary hot dog. Serve with a trio of dipping sauces — honey mustard, chipotle ketchup, and garlic mayo.

Trade in the theater's bright orange nacho cheese and stale tortilla chips for a creamy goat cheese béchamel and blue corn chip variation. Not into the Oscars? These recipes would be excellent at any movie-watching shindig. To add them to your recipe collection, read more

In my humble opinion, there is no food combination better than melted cheese and tortilla chips. Taking a bite of crunchy, salty chips topped with gooey, oozing cheese is like taking a bite out of heaven. While I'm crazy for the combo in its classic nacho form, I also live for the pairing as a dip. Not just any dip, but this chile con queso dip. It takes all the typical nacho toppings — cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, tomatoes — and mixes them into a dip. It's super easy to make and unbelievably satisfying to eat. Seriously, there is nothing more to say. You need to make this dip. It's beyond scrumptious. Hurry up and get the recipe when you read more

Part potato skins and part nachos, this recipe is the perfect dish to kick off your Super Bowl weekend. The classic meat and potatoes combination gets transformed into the ultimate layered dish.

While the potatoes crisp in the oven, a flavorful mix of ground beef, black beans, and taco seasoning cooks on the stove. To make this cheesy dish vegetarian, simply omit the meat. Check out the recipe when you read more

You'd think the self-described Queen of Nachos would just know in her gut about the following, but alas, this is how I was informed that it was International Nachos Day. A transcript of this morning's Blackberry text messages, verbatim:

CasaSugar: Do you know what today is? It is the day that nachos were supposedly invented!

GiggleSugar: Holy crap!!! I am on it.

So without further ado, the legend of how nachos were born: 65 years ago, a genius maitre d' named Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya (perhaps my firstborn son's name?), was just doing his thing at a restaurant in Piedras Negras, Mexico near the Texas border. As legend has it, some Americans came in right after the chef had stepped out, so ol' Nacho Anaya whipped up a tasty treat of chips and cheese melted under the broiler — with some spicy jalepenos thrown on top just to be jaunty. And there you have it, my friends, the story of nachos. Celebrate this hallowed day, Oct. 21, by eating a pile of cheesy chips and saluting its inventor! I know I will. Click here to read the more sober NPR version of the story.

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The other day a friend, who recently got back from Armenia, told me about a delicious treat she experienced on her trip. At first I was a little grossed out when she described the potato chip, mozzarella, and ketchup nachos. However, I took her word for it and decided to make my own. The result, a gooey mess of crunch, cheese, and sauce, is shockingly good. They're the perfect after-school or late-night snack. To look at the seriously simple recipe, read more

When PartySugar posts her nachos for the week every Thursday, I ogle her pictures with envy. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I begged her to let me make a version of my own. I decided to try making nachos that are both savory and sweet, an element that I enjoyed in a grilled cheese sandwich a few weeks ago. There aren't many ingredients in this recipe, but each adds something to the flavor profile of the nachos: The brie melts perfectly; the gorgonzola provides sharpness; the apples are crispy and refreshing and cut through the heaviness of the cheese; the potato chips are wonderfully spiced and incredibly crunchy; the honey adds a lingering sweetness that can't help but make me smile.

I loved making these nachos and can't wait to do it again. The best part is how easy it was. For the recipe, read more